McArthur Signs Three-Year Deal

Midfielder James McArthur has signed a new three-year deal at Crystal Palace, much to the delight of both him and the club.

The Scotland international was a key contributor during his debut season in red and blue last time out, and has committed his long-term future to the club, claiming it was an easy decision to make.

"I'm delighted. I had a fantastic time last year," he said.

"I think the club's going in a great direction, everyone's positive around the place and I'm really looking forward to the coming years."

The 27-year-old has said that leaving south London was never on the cards, claiming that this is "where I want to be" for the foreseeable future.

"It was an easy decision. There was nothing really to consider," he said.

"I think there was a bit of general interest [in me], but Palace is where I want to be, I'm happy and that's the main thing in football.

"When you're happy, you need to try to keep that and keep going with it. I think the club have got the potential to go places. We finished tenth last year and we'll be looking to progress again. I'm really delighted."

Manager Alan Pardew shared his player's joy at the new deal, saying: "James is a very important player for this football club, he was key for me last season and he has impressed with every aspect of his play. Because of the quality that he brings and the attitude that he has, it was important to offer him this new deal.

"I've been a fan of his for a long time and was impressed with his performances when he was playing for Wigan," he added.

McArthur spoke highly of his Eagles teammates, insisting that they all want to encourage each other to improve, both individually and as a squad, stating that "everything comes together" in SE25.

"I think the main thing here is that we've got all the right characters, we all want to push each other and that's going to be seen next season as well," he said.

"Everything comes together here at Palace, so it wasn't really a big decision to make. I spoke to the club and said that it was something I really wanted to do, commit my future, so I'm really excited about it now. Hopefully the team will keep moving forward and keep progressing.

Looking ahead to next season, McArthur said that it was important for the Eagles to build on the success of 2014-15 and keep pushing forward.

"We need to keep pushing, as a club, a team, everyone is pushing each other," he said.

"Towards the end of last season, everyone could have taken their foot off the gas, but we wanted to finish well to take that momentum into the following year."